L.I. natives, Broadway performers to headline in Woodmere

On the Quays, a New York City-based international production company, will present “The #howaboutlove? Tour — Long Island,” a benefit concert at Backstage at Woodmere Lanes on Sat., Oct. 7 at 3 p.m.

The event, which is part of the “Hometown Concerts — the How About Love Tour” series, will highlight and celebrate the Long Islanders of On The Quays, including Michael Quadrino, of East Rockaway; Matt Engle, of Deer Park; and Joseph Spinelli, of Kings Park. The benefit will also feature special guests James Crichton and Spencer Glass, of Merrick.

On The Quays was founded in September 2016 by Nicola Murphy, Quadrino, Engle, Keiji Ishiguri, and Jenna Tanzola. They collectively tell relevant and engaging stories, sharing their perspectives that promote equality, empathy, and understanding.

“We combine some great rock songs and storytelling to celebrate love and understanding in a world where we’re not getting a lot of that right now,” Quadrino said. “The show will flow with songs, some tunes from “Rent,“ and we talk about some of the choices we’ve made about pursuing theater. But our goal is to always have the audience enjoy the music along with the social comment, all in an entertaining way.”

Quadrino, who is organizing the concert with Ishiguri, a music director, grew up in East Rockaway and graduated from East Rockaway High School in 2006. He is a former elite figure skater and now an actor and producer.

More about ‘On the Quays’

In March, On The Quays produced “The Last Days of Cleopatra” by Laoisa Sexton at The New Theatre, Dublin, their first international production. The group is also co-producing “Float,” a short film that was recently accepted to the Albuquerque Film & Music Festival and the Women’s Independent Film Festival.

In addition, the concert spotlights On The Quay’s cast of “Rent,” including Johnny Newcomb (Broadway’s “The Last Ship,” “American Idiot”), Janet Krupin (“If/Then,” “Bring It On”), Magdiel Cabral, and Zia. Their production of “Rent” will be presented at the Cas Di Cultura Theater and Cultural Center — the national theater of Aruba — this fall. It will mark the first time “Rent” will be performed in Aruba, and the first major professional production at the Cas Di Cultura. In September, Aruba joined only a handful of Caribbean countries to offer legal same-sex civil unions. The evening will be a benefit for On The Quays, their future events, and the production headed to Aruba. Their production of “Rent” also previously played a sold out, critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

More information on the company can be found at www.onthequays.com. For concert tickets, visit www.howaboutlovelongisland.brownpapertickets.com.